in no particular order:

Planescape:  Torment

Baldur's Gate 2 + addon

Might and Magic VII

Ultima IV

The Bard's Tale  (for the C64)

(it's REALLY hard to not have honorable mentions) 

And for the record, hack-and-slash is the building block of ANY RPG, because most RPGs require  you to kill rats, then orcs, then goblins, then trolls, then giants, then dragons, etc etc etc to build your characters up.  To dismiss something like Diablo II as not being an RPG based upon its game sytle is a fallacy; to dismiss it because there is only one way to finish it is as well (because Ultima IV, THE grandaddy of all RPG games, can only be finished by a 'good' character).  

[QUOTE="dmso12"]First of all, please pardon me for being a grammar freak - your topic should read, "An anti-piracy .... blah blah."

Having said that, my two cents (which have pro'lly been tossed about in the 16 previous pages of post) are that 1) piracy is inevitable and 2) I think that real game lovers support the titles and franchises they love.

Back in the way-back, I got a rip of Ultima II when it was first released, and that lead me to buy each and every title (even the last stinker, Ulitma 9, DESPITE the terrible reviews). Same for Might and Magic 1 - I got a bootleg, and bought every single title (again, even the last stinker, Might and Magic 9). I haven't started all of my collections like that - there isn't a single Bioware or Black Isle game that I ripped, instead I bought them all when they first came out.

Now, that's not to say that I represent everyone out there - I'm in my 30s, I have a real job and a sugar-momma gamer wife :lol:, and I make enough money to buy our 1 game every couple of months, and I do it when the games come out so I can 'vote' for titles I like by paying premium prices. But I'm sure that there are people whose gaming habits exceed their spending capabilities, considering the demographics of gamers (in particular, action gamers). I'm sure that there are leeches that would rather spend their money on dope to smoke while they play their pirated games. Unfortunately, there will always be people out for a free ride.

I wish there was something philosophical I could say about the necessity of piracy, but I can't - all I can say is it ain't going away, and companies should continue to make it hard for the 80% of us who don't code, to pirate the game, thus minimizing their losses.
ChocoKat

I don't see anything in my post saying 'it's OK to steal'.  Rather, I am supporting my point that there will always be folks wanting to pirate games because their hobbies outweigh their incomes, there are always people who want to try the game before they buy (and not all companies put out demos), and I close my statement with the acknowledgement that inane copy protection measures are in place to safegurad the lion's share of the company investment.  I even acknowledge that piracy is has no value ("I wish there was something philosophical I could say about the necessity of piracy, but I can't ")

Maybe you should take a few bong hits and go mod your car to run on vegetable oil before you get all 'agro' on me.